The Tulane Green Wave desperately needs a spark on the offensive line, and it thought it might be getting that Tuesday.

Tight end Cody Sparks went into his MRI exam this week thinking the results would green-light him to play in Saturday’s game against Division I-AA McNeese State.

Scott Threlkeld/The Times-PicayuneTulane Coach Bob Toledo says the offensive line has to do a better job of protecting first-year starting quarterback Joe Kemp.Sparks, a 6-foot-4, 239-pound tight end, broke his kneecap during fall camp, but had been back on the practice field for almost two weeks, running straight ahead and doing certain drills. He didn’t need heavy bandages or braces on his left knee and thought he finally would get to claim his starting job.

But the results showed the bone isn’t healed.

"It’s very frustrating, frustrating for him and frustrating for us," Tulane Coach Bob Toledo said. "I just feel for the kid. He’s worked extremely hard, and to not see it pay off is tough on him and tough on us. But eventually he’ll be back, and he’ll be fine."

The Green Wave offensive line — including tight end — has been a source of chagrin, Toledo said. It hasn’t provided running room for the backs, which include strong and elusive Andre’Anderson. The passing game, with first-year starter Joe Kemp at quarterback, needs better protection, Toledo said during Tuesday's news conference.

"There are some guys that should be playing better but aren’t," Toledo said. "(Center) Andrew Nierman is really the only guy who has been consistent. Even our two older tackles have not performed well. Our two guards have been very disappointing. As a matter of fact, we’re going to start two true freshman guards this week.

"Now how long they can go remains to be seen, too. ... One of them about passed out at practice yesterday. We just have to wait and see. If you keep losing, you have to do something. You have to straighten some things out, and that’s what we’re trying to do. I am very disappointed in the performance of our offensive line. Up to this day, they haven’t played well."

Sparks has been miserable watching his team get off to an 0-2 start, extending its losing streak to 10 games.

"When I came out for the Tulsa game, when everyone came out for the little handshake thing, I was in tears on the side because it just sucks to work all summer, all offseason, half of camp and get to here, and you can’t play the first three games of the season, at least," Sparks said. "It sucks. It’s hard to watch on film and see stuff where I feel like I can help us out. Some of the third-down stuff that I feel like is one of my specialities, you know, catching the ball and picking up a first down, keeping a drive alive, is really where I feel like I could contribute a lot."

Tyler Helm, Sparks’ backup, has looked great on some plays, but dropped a pass against Tulsa, committed a false start against BYU, and failed at times to execute basic blocking assignments. Tight ends Coach Doug Lichtenberger said it’s symptomatic of what’s gone on team-wide with less experienced players in pivotal roles.

"The last two days, (Helm has) practiced better," Lichtenberger said. "I think it’s one of those things that even though he’s an older guy, it’s the first time that he’s been the guy. It’s like what we have everywhere on our team, having to learn on the run."

Sparks played an entire practice with the broken kneecap without asking to sit out. When it became infected and the initial course of antibodics didn’t work, he fought to get out of the hospital to attend the team’s scrimmage.

Helm’s backup, freshman Kevin Burris, was involved in a near-fatal accident at age 13. A car hit the bike he was riding, throwing him against the windshield. He had a deep cut on his neck, his jaw was broken in several places and he lost teeth and lost volumes of blood. When he regained consciousness, he asked about playing football.

"That’s the thing with Kevin, we always remark about how mature he is. And when you have an experience like that, I think he realizes there is no need to get worried or to sweat the little things," Lichtenberger said. "That’s the way he plays on the field. He’s not going to get caught up in small things, and he realizes the big picture. He’s a real calming presence, because he’s had some tough circumstances to go through."

Tulane draws heavily from its tight ends, and uses double-tight end alignments, so an improvement there perhaps would go a long way in improving the offense.

"We are playing young guys right now, and when you have that, you are going to have some struggles," Lichtenberger said. "But the big thing is we need to take some pressure off of (Kemp). We need to take some of the load off his shoulders, and one of the big things the last couple weeks has been to do your job and not just as an individual, but as a group. The line and the tight ends — we’ve got to do our job to make everyone else’s job easier. .¤.¤. As soon as we start having success in the run game, it’s going to make everything else a heck of a lot easier."